Descending into the dungeon-like cellar on stone steps worn down through the centuries from thousands of feet, I remind myself that this is the hottest ticket in Esslingen, Germany, just nine miles from Stuttgart. How else to explain why I have joined a group of people willing to leave behind bright sunshine and the cobblestone streets of this uber-Instagramable city on the Neckar River, into the depths and darkness under what used to be a monastery dating back 800 years ago and now home to Kessler Sekt, the largest Champagne producer in Germany.

Each step takes us deeper into the heart of Germany’s champagne history, for it was here in 1826 that Georg Christian Kessler began a business that endures today as the country’s oldest producer of sparkling wine.

Defying his father’s wishes to become a silversmith, Georg Christian von Kessler was a successful businessman when he moved to Reims, France, and apprenticed himself to Barbe Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, who was 27 when she was widowed and took over her husband’s wine business. It was a time when there were few, if any, French businesswomen, and none were allowed to even have a bank account. Yes, we have come a long way.

But Ponsardin was audacious and bold—two necessary personality traits for a single woman to survive back then.

The beginnings of Veuve Clicquot

She revolutionized the Champagne industry with her innovations, including a way to produce a crystal-clear champagne free of sediments, as well as creating the first blended rosé champagne and the first registered vintage champagne.

She showed savvy during the Napoleonic Wars; she was able to persuade officers of Napoleon’s army to protect her property by giving them bottles of Champagne—a lot of it. Of course, being on horseback meant the officers couldn’t hold both bottles and glasses. So, jettisoning their glasses, they used their swords to cut through the necks of the bottles, a practice that became known as sabering, according to Tilar J. Mazze,o who described this incident in his book, The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It.

The widow’s bribe worked. The officers got to drink fine Champagne, riding away happy, and the Widow Clicquot’s property was safe. Her dream was to see her Champagne ranked first in both New York and St. Petersburg. And she had some words for women as well, saying, “Lobster salad and champagne are the only things a woman should ever be seen eating.”

An international brand

Ponsardin became known as the “Grande Dame of Champagne” or sometimes, more simply, Widow Clicquot. Today, Veuve Clicquot is recognized as one of the major luxury brands in the world. And Kessler, by then having completed his apprenticeship and now co-owner, was instrumental in her achieving that goal.

Ultimately, Napoleon’s armies were defeated by a coalition led by the Duke of Wellington and Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, and Kessler was able to negotiate a way to stop the Allied forces from destroying all their wine stock as they plundered and looted their way throughout the region. Realizing that the troops would develop a taste for the drink and want more once they were back home, Kessler hit the road, taking samples to Germany and Russia. He would later use the relationships he developed when opening Kessler Sekt in 1826 in Esslingen.

A return to Germany

In their first decade in business, Kessler Sekt sold half a million bottles of sparkling wine. Today, on average, the company sells a million bottles a year.

The 1.5-hour tour takes us through the Medieval catacombs where racks upon racks of dusty bottles age and displays recounting the life story of Kessler and his wine-making techniques, including using high-quality grapes and handcrafted yeast. That’s still part of the process for creating such wines as their single-variety Hochgewächs Chardonnay Brut and Hochgewächs Rosé. Turning still wine into sparkling wine starts with an initial fermentation in casks, followed by a secondary fermentation in bottles, which, depending upon the wine, can take up to three years.

What helps in the transformation from still wine to sparkling, our guide tells us, is above our heads. Looking up, we can see mold dripping down in little gray tentacles from the ceiling. And no, we didn’t see any bats.

Tasting the fruit of the vine

From learning about the wine to trying it, we enter what was once the Pfleghof, an administrative building of the monastery, dating back to the 1500s. A stunning contrast to the more than 6500 square-foot caverns below, it’s all Baronial in style with rich and lustrous wood furniture, dark wood paneling and coffered ceilings, leaded glass insets, gold sconces, and elaborate chandeliers. In all, it’s the perfect setting for sampling such champagnes as their salmon pink rose with its fruit notes of strawberries, raspberries, and, our guide tells us, dog roses, a wild rose species native to Europe. Other samplings on our tour included their Sec, distilled from Trentino and Veneto grapes and golden in color, and a fruity and floral Riesling.

The historic city market

But Kessler Sekt, located in the city’s Old Town Marktplatz, is just one of many sights in this historic city, said to be one of the most beautiful in Germany. Standing sentinel for 700 years is Esslingen Castle with its towers and ramparts overlooking the Neckar River.

Esslingen is also home to Germany’s oldest half-timber house, the Ältestes Fachwerkhaus, built in 1266-1267. In all, the city has 800 half-timbered buildings, and for those that are interested, there are city tours.

But downloading a map from the city’s website is also the way to go.

Canals from the river course through Old Town, and streets wind and turn through a maze of buildings, some dating back to the 1200s. Of particular interest is the stunning Town Hall with its Renaissance and Baroque façades painted in Franconian red, gables, bell tower, and astronomical clock, and the 1582 Alfred Kielmeyer Haus, a house so enchanting that Midene Art Studio reproduced it into one of their historic Tea Light Candle Holder miniature buildings.

For a taste of Esslingen, traditional Swabian dishes such as Maultaschen, a meat-filled dumpling at MATTIS, and well-hung beer served with handmade spaetzle are on the menu at Restaurant Schwanen. Herr Kaechele is the place for brezeln, those soft, plump pretzels which are also a Swabian specialty.

For something sweet at the end of your day, stop by Markt Eins, located in a building erected in 1320, for dessert and a glass of Kessler’s Rose.

Friendly tip: tickets to the tour, which is conducted in both English and German, can be hard to get, so plan ahead.